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DINOSAUR
This is an in-depth study of the visceral slacker classic from 1987, an album that influenced enormously the nascent alternative scene. Dinosaur Jr, the stereotypical slackers. Mascis, Barlow, Murph (just Murph): three early-twenty somethings still overburdened by a torpid adolescence and a disastrous dress sense.
With battered guitar, bass, and kit, they carry around a catalogue of songs that betrays identities half-formed at best, schizoid at worst. But listen. "1987", a new album, a snapshot of a moment when a furious musical intensity swung upwards and pushed their lyrics and Mascis' vocal whine far into the margins.
Searing riffs, mountainous solos, and the tightest of fills - underpinned by stream-of-consciousness structures and a palette of crazed effects - steal the show. These three build a one-off sound that stirred up the hardening alternative mainstream and drove it to distraction. "You're Living All Over Me": supposedly Mascis' indictment of what it was like to tour in a van with these other two misfits, but also testimony to the obsession - an itch, a disease - that the band's disengagement from their world had produced.
This record cares so little it cares a lot.
With battered guitar, bass, and kit, they carry around a catalogue of songs that betrays identities half-formed at best, schizoid at worst. But listen. "1987", a new album, a snapshot of a moment when a furious musical intensity swung upwards and pushed their lyrics and Mascis' vocal whine far into the margins.
Searing riffs, mountainous solos, and the tightest of fills - underpinned by stream-of-consciousness structures and a palette of crazed effects - steal the show. These three build a one-off sound that stirred up the hardening alternative mainstream and drove it to distraction. "You're Living All Over Me": supposedly Mascis' indictment of what it was like to tour in a van with these other two misfits, but also testimony to the obsession - an itch, a disease - that the band's disengagement from their world had produced.
This record cares so little it cares a lot.
When Dinosaur Jr. reunited, more than 20 years after their formation and legendary dissolution, the worry was that these guys were just flogging the back catalog, taking the old show on the road as a marketing gimmick. But the 2007 release of 'Beyond' gave a hearty Marshall-driven "F**K YOU!" answer to those inquiring ears. Restoring the sound established by the unassailable hat-trick gambit of their first three albums -- 'Dinosaur', 'You're Living All Over Me', and 'Bug' -- 'Beyond' continued the band's march into rock greatness by making old ears smile and new ears bleed afresh.
And then came 'Farm', the 9th full length record by the original line-up: J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. If Beyond was Dinosaur Jr.'s return to form, Farm is proof that Dinosaur Jr. could (and still do, to this day!) deliver timeless, exhilarating rock music. 'Farm' encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette: soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-rich melodies. At times wholly 70's guitar-epic, at times perfect for sitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, these songs get into your head and stay there, bouncing happily around. The ear-catching "Plans" is nearly seven minutes of classic whipped-topping rock dessert, while "I Don't Wanna Go There" is a meat-and-potatoes main dish, mixing unapologetic lead guitar with straight-ahead delivery a la James Gang or Humble Pie.
This expanded deluxe edition of 'Farm' features four songs never pressed to vinyl and never given worldwide release:“Houses”, “Whenever You’re Ready” (The Zombies Cover), “Creepies” (Instrumental), and “Show”. “Whenever You’re Ready”, a cover of classic pop-rockers The Zombies, is impossibly good for a hidden gem; Murph stomps in with a sledgehammer to the kit, J and Lou layer low-end and fuzz like two halves of one brain, and right when things feel biggest, airy and colossal, there’s J with a lightning bolt of a guitar solo. Pure electricity and melody like only he can make. Recorded in J Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, Farm was produced by Mascis himself, and delivers the singular, unique energy of one of America's greatest living rock bands.
And then came 'Farm', the 9th full length record by the original line-up: J Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph. If Beyond was Dinosaur Jr.'s return to form, Farm is proof that Dinosaur Jr. could (and still do, to this day!) deliver timeless, exhilarating rock music. 'Farm' encompasses Dinosaur Jr.'s signature palette: soaring and distorted guitar, unshakable hooks, honey-rich melodies. At times wholly 70's guitar-epic, at times perfect for sitting by a babbling brook with Joni and Neil, these songs get into your head and stay there, bouncing happily around. The ear-catching "Plans" is nearly seven minutes of classic whipped-topping rock dessert, while "I Don't Wanna Go There" is a meat-and-potatoes main dish, mixing unapologetic lead guitar with straight-ahead delivery a la James Gang or Humble Pie.
This expanded deluxe edition of 'Farm' features four songs never pressed to vinyl and never given worldwide release:“Houses”, “Whenever You’re Ready” (The Zombies Cover), “Creepies” (Instrumental), and “Show”. “Whenever You’re Ready”, a cover of classic pop-rockers The Zombies, is impossibly good for a hidden gem; Murph stomps in with a sledgehammer to the kit, J and Lou layer low-end and fuzz like two halves of one brain, and right when things feel biggest, airy and colossal, there’s J with a lightning bolt of a guitar solo. Pure electricity and melody like only he can make. Recorded in J Mascis' Bisquiteen studio in Amherst, Massachusetts, Farm was produced by Mascis himself, and delivers the singular, unique energy of one of America's greatest living rock bands.
TRACK LISTING
1. Pieces
2. I Want You To Know
3. Ocean In The Way
4. Plans
5. Your Weather
6. Over It
7. Friends
8. Said The People
9. There's No Here
10. See You
11. I Don't Wanna Go There
12. Imagination Blind
13. Houses
14. Whenever You're Ready
15. Creepies
16. Show
Formed in 1984, Dinosaur Jr carved a singular path through the latter half of the 1980s and early 1990s, issuing a number of highly influential albums in the process before finding a home with Sire Records. ‘Where You Been’, their fifth record, emerged in 1993, at the height of enthusiasm for grunge and the alternative American rock scene the band had long been part of.
Produced by a new line-up of the group (longtime drummer Murph and new bassist Mike Johnson completing the three-piece), the album became the band’s most successful up to that point, reaching #50 in the US (where it sold over a quarter of a million copies) and #10 in the UK album charts, and spawning the hit single ‘Start Choppin’.
Released to unanimously positive reviews, and containing many tracks that would become staples and fan favourites, ‘Where You Been’ continued Dinosaur Jr’s global ascent, being issued simultaneously across the US, Europe, Australasia, Asia and South America.
Produced by a new line-up of the group (longtime drummer Murph and new bassist Mike Johnson completing the three-piece), the album became the band’s most successful up to that point, reaching #50 in the US (where it sold over a quarter of a million copies) and #10 in the UK album charts, and spawning the hit single ‘Start Choppin’.
Released to unanimously positive reviews, and containing many tracks that would become staples and fan favourites, ‘Where You Been’ continued Dinosaur Jr’s global ascent, being issued simultaneously across the US, Europe, Australasia, Asia and South America.
TRACK LISTING
Side A:
1. Out There
2. Start Choppin’
3. What Else Is New
4. On The Way
5. Not The Same
Side B:
1. Get Me
2. Drawerings
3. Hide
4. Goin’ Home
5. I Ain’t Sayin
Bug is the third studio album originally released in 1988. It was the last Dinosaur Jr. album with original bassist Lou Barlow until Beyond in 2007. NME critic Jack Barron deemed Bug "the most comprehensive rock statement of the year so far" in a 1988 review for the magazine, noting Dinosaur Jr.'s predominantly "torpid" approach and commenting that the music "trepidates everyday reality away", while rating the album "8.999999" on a ten-point scale. In a retrospective review of Bug for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "Freak Scene" as the album's "masterpiece" and opined, "Although the majority of the album is firmly situated in the sprawling, noisy metallic fusion of hard rock and avant noise, Bug also demonstrates that J Mascis has a talent for winding folk-rock". While finding its songs "quite uneven", Erlewine concluded that the album nonetheless constitutes "a major step forward for Mascis". Writing for Drowned in Sound in 2005, Mike Diver said of Bug, "The songwriting has increased tenfold since You're Living All Over Me ... really, if you like music – be it grunge, indie, punk, whatever – you will love this. Period. Go spend some money already." Keith Cameron of Mojo wrote, "Bug marks the emergence of Mascis writing by rote. When applied to such an outlandishly great song as 'Freak Scene' his skills still blazed, however, and as formulaic exercises in discordant alienation go, Bug is better than most.
TRACK LISTING
1. Freak Scene
2. No Bones
3. They Always Come
4. Yeah We Know
5. Let It Ride
6. Pond Song
7. Budge
8. The Post
9. Don't
10. Keep The Glove
Dinosaur is the debut studio album by Dinosaur Jr. It was originally released in 1985 on Homestead Records. The album exhibits a folkier side of the band than on future releases but some of the tracks on the album showed off a much heavier, more hardcore punk-based side to the band in songs such as "Does it Float", "Mountain Man" and "Bulbs of Passion." "Bulbs of Passion" was not featured on the original LP (it was a b-side to the "Repulsion" single). On later reissues as on this one "Bulbs of Passion" is the first track at J Mascis' request. "Yeah, I asked for that," J recalls, "because [that song] gave our new direction - it felt like we were our own sound." Also featured is a 1987 live performance of "Does It Float" as a bonus track to close out the album.
TRACK LISTING
1. Bulbs Of Passion
2. Forget The Swan
3. Cats In A Bowl
4. The Leper
5. Does It Float
6. Pointless
7. Repulsion
8. Gargoyle
9. Severed Lips
10. Mountain Man
11. Quest
12. Does It Float (Live)
Celebrating the 15th anniversary since its original release, Dinosaur Jr. is reissuing “Beyond” on limited edition coloured vinyl with a special edition white vinyl 7”.
With J Mascis on guitar & lead vocals, Lou Barlow on bass and vocals, and Murph on drums, the 2007 album was the first from original lineup Dinosaur Jr. since 1988’s “Bug," kicking off a Dinosaur Jr. reunion which has lasted longer than the band’s original run.
"Less a theme park of the past and more of an actual trip there… Beyond is nostalgic for everything but the band's own glory days. If anything, it's an exercise in making their entire twenty-year output sound contemporary again.” - Zach Baron for Pitchfork.
"very existence of this new album is a surprise, but the real shock is that Beyond is a flat-out great record, a startling return to form for J Mascis as a guitarist and songwriter and Dinosaur Jr. as a band… Beyond isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard.” - Stephen Thomas Erlewine for Allmusic Guide
"There is something almost eerie about how exactly the Dinosaur Jr of 2007 sound like the Dinosaur Jr of 1988: on occasion, listening to Beyond feels discombobulating, like meeting an old school friend 20 years on…" - Alex Petridis for The Guardian
With J Mascis on guitar & lead vocals, Lou Barlow on bass and vocals, and Murph on drums, the 2007 album was the first from original lineup Dinosaur Jr. since 1988’s “Bug," kicking off a Dinosaur Jr. reunion which has lasted longer than the band’s original run.
"Less a theme park of the past and more of an actual trip there… Beyond is nostalgic for everything but the band's own glory days. If anything, it's an exercise in making their entire twenty-year output sound contemporary again.” - Zach Baron for Pitchfork.
"very existence of this new album is a surprise, but the real shock is that Beyond is a flat-out great record, a startling return to form for J Mascis as a guitarist and songwriter and Dinosaur Jr. as a band… Beyond isn't merely a worthy album from a reunited band, it's simply a great record by any standard.” - Stephen Thomas Erlewine for Allmusic Guide
"There is something almost eerie about how exactly the Dinosaur Jr of 2007 sound like the Dinosaur Jr of 1988: on occasion, listening to Beyond feels discombobulating, like meeting an old school friend 20 years on…" - Alex Petridis for The Guardian
TRACK LISTING
SIDE A:
1. Almost Ready
2. Crumble
3. Pick Me Up
4. Back To Your Heart
SIDE B:
5. This Is All I Came To Do
6. Been There All The Time
7. It’s Me
8. We’re Not Alone
BONUS 7“
SIDE A:
1. What If I Knew
SIDE B:
1. Yer Son
• RECORDED LIVE ON MTV’S 120 MINUTES , MARCH 7 TH 1993.
• THE CLASSIC, FAN - FAVOURITE SESSION, RE - MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES.
• FEATURING TRACKS FROM ACROSS THEIR CATALOGUE.
• NEVER BEFORE RELEASED! VINYL ONLY!
Captured at the height of their powers during the heyday of the grunge movement that they inspired, J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr perform tracks from their back catalogue live on MTV’s 120 Minutes show .
Loud and heavy as ever, the band turn in an inspired performance, which has since become a legendary favourite among fans.
Never officially released until now, and produced in association with MTV and the band, ‘Seventytwohundredseconds’ is the latest in our ongoing extensive exploration of Dinosaur Jr’s brilli ant Sire Records period. A must - hear glimpse of one of the treasures from the rich seam of American alternative rock and grunge artists who reinvigorated guitar - orientated music in the late 1980s and 1990s.
• THE CLASSIC, FAN - FAVOURITE SESSION, RE - MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL TAPES.
• FEATURING TRACKS FROM ACROSS THEIR CATALOGUE.
• NEVER BEFORE RELEASED! VINYL ONLY!
Captured at the height of their powers during the heyday of the grunge movement that they inspired, J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr perform tracks from their back catalogue live on MTV’s 120 Minutes show .
Loud and heavy as ever, the band turn in an inspired performance, which has since become a legendary favourite among fans.
Never officially released until now, and produced in association with MTV and the band, ‘Seventytwohundredseconds’ is the latest in our ongoing extensive exploration of Dinosaur Jr’s brilli ant Sire Records period. A must - hear glimpse of one of the treasures from the rich seam of American alternative rock and grunge artists who reinvigorated guitar - orientated music in the late 1980s and 1990s.
TRACK LISTING
Side A
1. Severed Lips
2. Budge
3. Get Me
Side B
1. Thumb
2. Raisans
Here is Sweep It Into Space, the fifth new studio album cut by Dinosaur Jr.. during the 13th year of their rebirth. Originally scheduled for issue in mid 2020, this record’s temporal trajectory was thwarted by the coming of the Plague. But it would take more than a mere Plague to tamp down the exquisite fury of this trio when they are fully dialed-in. And Sweep It Into Space is a masterpiece of zoned dialing.
Recorded, as usual, at Amherst’s Biquiteen, the sessions for Sweep It Into Space began in the late Autumn of 2019, following a West Coast/ South East tour. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile. Indeed, Sweep It Into Space is a very cool album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album’s dozen tunes and Murph’s pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. Lou’s songs here are as elegant as always. But there are very few moments where you wouldn’t know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop.
They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with Sweep It Into Space, without ever losing their central core.
Recorded, as usual, at Amherst’s Biquiteen, the sessions for Sweep It Into Space began in the late Autumn of 2019, following a West Coast/ South East tour. The only extra musician used this time with Kurt Vile. Indeed, Sweep It Into Space is a very cool album. As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album’s dozen tunes and Murph’s pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. Lou’s songs here are as elegant as always. But there are very few moments where you wouldn’t know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop.
They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with Sweep It Into Space, without ever losing their central core.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: There's something unmistakeable about the Dinosaur Jr sound. Not only do the melodic guitars and major-key melodies scream DJR, but Mascis' vocals bring back every memory of hazy summers spent listening to 'Green Mind' as a young teenager. 'Sweep It Into Space' has every bit of the charm and groove of their early years but with a maturity and musicianship that can only come from a band at this stage of their career.TRACK LISTING
SIDE A:
1. I Ain’t
2. I Met The Stones
3. To Be Waiting
4. I Ran Away
5. Garden
6. Hide Another Round
SIDE B:
7. And Me
8. I Expect It Always
9. Take It Back
10. N Say
11. Walking To You
12. You Wonder
Dinosaur Pile-Up return with their fourth album Celebrity Mansions, a collection of songs that sizzle with big melodies, skewered through with raw, intoxicating emotion. To mark the album’s announcement the band have released the incendiary ‘Thrash Metal Cassette’, their most punk rock and in-your-face track to date.
DPU have long been talked about as one of British music’s most consistently exciting outfits, with singer/guitarist Matt Bigland forging a reputation as one of rock music’s finest songwriters. So having spent the best part of a decade building a fiercely loyal fanbase, and a stellar live reputation, now’s the time to prove it.
DPU have long been talked about as one of British music’s most consistently exciting outfits, with singer/guitarist Matt Bigland forging a reputation as one of rock music’s finest songwriters. So having spent the best part of a decade building a fiercely loyal fanbase, and a stellar live reputation, now’s the time to prove it.
TRACK LISTING
01. Thrash Metal Cassette
02. Back Foot
03. Stupid Heavy Metal Broken Hearted Loser Punk
04. Celebrity Mansions
05. Round The Bend
06. Pouring Gasoline
07. Black Limousine
08. K West
09. Professional Freak
10. Long Way Down
Mercury shortlisted band Dinosaur continue to surprise and impress with their remarkable new album ‘Wonder Trail’. Dinosaur’s second album is as electrifyingly different as anyone who knows Laura Jurd’s track record would expect. Never one to be labeled, the fearsomely talented and multiple award-winning Jurd has a Miles-like way of taking her work and tuning it to illuminate a vast array of musical worlds. She’s done orchestrated and meticulously composed; jazz rock grooves; electronic minimalism; mainstream jazz and now, with her new album, Wonder Trail, and band Dinosaur, keyboard maestro Elliot Galvin to the fore, she’s plundered the synth-pop of the 1980s for a new sound. But this is not gratuitous borrowing, or any kind of hipsterish, retro post-modernism. For one, these are very current sounds (Broen’s an indie band with similar reference points that comes up in conversation). And for two, Jurd and Galvin use the poptastic-ness of the keyboard sound as a sort of tin opener to get into all kinds of serious musical areas - improvisation, vocodered strangeness, strutting rockishness, bucolic folkiness. But, as with any proper stylistic amalgam, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
TRACK LISTING
1. Renewal (Part I)
2. Quiet Thunder
3. Shine Your Light
4. Forgive, Forget
5. Old Times' Sake
6. Set Free
7. Swimming
8. Renewal (Part II)
9. And Still We Wonder
‘Together, As One’ is the third album as a leader from British award-winning trumpet player, composer and band-leader Laura Jurd and her debut with newly named band Dinosaur. Featuring Laura’s regular collaborators, friends and creative cohort Elliot Galvin, Conor Chaplin and Corrie Dick, ‘Together, As One’ is a coherently powerful and bold album that not only confirms her promise as one of the most important young musicians to emerge but is a statement that will launch her music further into the wider international jazz world. Laura Jurd’s rise as been nothing short of meteoric since she first burst onto the highly creative London scene in 2010. Very quickly she made a bold statement, releasing two highly acclaimed albums, leading to her selection as a BBC New Generation Artist. With her undeniably unique, creative and joyous spirit and approach to music making, she has developed a formidable reputation as one of the most creative young improvising musicians to emerge from the UK in recent years.
With all the insanity that is stalking the Earth in 2016, it’s nice to have something to rely on. Who’d’ve dared to think it’d be Dinosaur Jr.? There’s no doubt about it - this is the record that the fans have been waiting for since the original line up reformed.
The songs on ‘Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not’ were recorded over the past year or so, again at Amherst’s Bisquiteen Studio (located in a secret nook of J’s basement). The sound is great and roaring with J’s various bleeding ear psychedelic guitar touches oozing their way into the smudge-pop modelling, while Murph’s drums pound like Fred Flintstone’s feet and Lou’s bass weaves back and forth between proggy melodicism and post-core thug-hunch.
The songs on ‘Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not’ were recorded over the past year or so, again at Amherst’s Bisquiteen Studio (located in a secret nook of J’s basement). The sound is great and roaring with J’s various bleeding ear psychedelic guitar touches oozing their way into the smudge-pop modelling, while Murph’s drums pound like Fred Flintstone’s feet and Lou’s bass weaves back and forth between proggy melodicism and post-core thug-hunch.
STAFF COMMENTS
Barry says: As you would expect from Dinosaur Jr, this is an anthemic grunge tour-de force. Hard-hitting drums and distortion abound all topped with Mascis' snarling but perfectly tuned vocals. Rousing chord progressions are rife here, but not the only thing on offer,'Be A Part' shows a bit of single-note twiddling before breaking out into a melancholic minor-key chord fare. 'Knocked Around' could be the soundtrack to a particularly heartwrenching college-party romantic failure montage. A brilliant return to form for Dinosaur Jr, as exciting, dynamic and emotive as ever. Highly recommended.TRACK LISTING
1. Goin' Down
2. Tiny
3. Be A Part
4. I Told Everyone
5. Love Is..
6. Good To Know
7. I Walk For Miles
8. Lost All Day
9. Knocked Around
10 Mirror
11. Left/Right
This 1988 LP is the final recording by the original line-up, and it opens with one of the greatest songs ever written! "Freak Scene" was massive in Manchester (just like everywhere else, I guess) in 1988 and the video for this perfect track was shot in John Robb's garden in West Didsbury! It's worth the price of the album alone. The rest of the tracks although perhaps never quite scaling those unbelievable heights, are some of Dinosaur's best work, fantastic song after fantastic song. J. Mascis had single-handedly resurrected the guitar as a freewheeling transcendental instrument, hurrah!!!! It was just a shame that the band hated each other, and this was to be their last as this line-up, but there can be no better way to go out than this. A true stone-wall CLASSIC!!!!
TRACK LISTING
Freak Scene
No Bones
They Always Come
Yeah We Know
Let It Ride
Pond Song
Budge
The Post
Don’t
Coming out of Massachusetts in 1985, this album brought the young, socially inadequate and self-absorbed J.Mascis dimly into focus. Dysfunction always rocks and J's solution / release was to build a wall of noise, with unbelievably loud guitars which were sometimes hazy, sometimes sprawling. The results were mesmerising. Like an East Coast version of The Meat Puppets, there was loser folk mumblings mixed with lo-fi hardcore mixed with psych-metal mixed with nervy U.K new-wave and even Goth! Add Neil Young guitar sprawls and bingo: this is music you've never heard in your life before. This debut is ramshackle and hotch-potch in places, but beneath the noise there's plenty of clever songs mixing pretty melody with brutal power.
TRACK LISTING
Forget The Swan
Cats In A Bowl
The Leper
Does It Float
Pointless
Repulsion
Gargoyle
Severed Lips
Mountain Man
Quest
Catch Twenty Two are back with another heartfelt collection of punk / soul / metal / Mowtown / ska / pop gems, delivered with their customary inspiration and energy. 11 new songs about love, loss and drinking, beautifully crafted around insanely catchy horn and exuberant guitar leads and very, very highly recommended.